A friend and fellow flight instructor recently confided to me that his student wasn’t confident enough to solo the airplane. With 35 hours of dual instruction, this student could land the airplane successfully and consistently, but experienced obvious anxiety whenever the word solo was mentioned. “What’s that matter with her?” my friend asked.
I replied that perhaps he was the problem, not her.
I’ve seen situations like this many times, where the student had the skill and proficiency to fly solo but lacked the confidence to do it. The most common cause of the problem is a flight instructor who unknowingly fosters student dependency instead of encouraging their independence.
The primary issue here is that some flight instructors are too helpful. Preparing for solo implies that the student assumes ever-increasing levels of responsibility. In the process, they’re going to make mistakes, but these mistakes are essential in helping the student make the next jump to assuming more responsibility.
For instance, if a student turning base fails to reduce power for the descent, the flight instructor should let the student see the results of her choice and make the correction herself. If the instructor intervenes too often, it only reinforces the student’s dependency on the instructor. Soon, the students begin to expect the flight instructor to resolve their problems for them, instead of expecting to do it themselves. Eventually, the student feels as if he or she is part of a two-person crew instead of working toward the goal of flying the ship alone.
So be helpful to your students, but when and where possible let them make their own mistakes—and then let them figure out how to solve them. This is one way we help our students develop confidence.
Related Articles
